Not Sure Which Platform To Choose

Unix vs.  Windows

We are often asked which hosting platform one should choose, Unix or Windows. Below, we've listed the major differences between the two that you should consider in making your final decision. In the process, we have also tried to dispel any common misconceptions regarding these platforms.

Important: One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to run UNIX on your own computer in order for you to host your site on UNIX platform. That is not true. Which operating system you run on your computer is irrelevant in making your decision. This means that if you are running Windows on your computer, you can still choose a UNIX server.

Over the years, many resources have been poured into both UNIX and Windows platforms to make hosting as easy as possible. Today, there are no differences in terms of ease of use between these platforms. If you are an advanced user who prefers to work in shell environment, then UNIX is your choice. However, if you are a beginner, you will find UNIX platforms user friendly, especially with a help of Host The Best's control panel.

Reliability:
The industry consensus is that UNIX is more reliable. However, Host The Best has made sure that the reliability of the Windows platform closely matches that of UNIX's. What this means is that you can make your decision based on the differences in features rather than on reliability.

Speed:
There is no difference in terms of speed between the two platforms.

Functionality:
This is where two platforms differ the most. There isn't much that can be achieved in one platform that can't be on the other one. The main difference is how the end is achieved. For example, if you need a database driven web site, you can choose either PHP/MySQL combination under UNIX or ASP/MS SQL combination under Windows. The trend is for solutions to be supported in both platforms. For example, Microsoft FrontPage, one of the most popular web site editors out there, is supported on both UNIX and Windows. Please see below for the list of supported features.

Price:
Here UNIX holds a slight edge over Windows due to the fact that most of the software licenses are free and that it's easier to maintain UNIX servers than Windows servers for the same level of reliability and performance. You will see that our hosting prices reflect this. Unless you specifically plan to use Windows platform specific features (see below), it probably makes sense to choose the UNIX platform.

Supported Features
Features	Unix	Windows
Flash
Shockwave
Real Audio/Video
Cgi-script
Perl
PHP
SSH (Secure Telnet)
MySQL
ASP (active server pages)
MS Access
MS SQL
Visual Basic Scripts
Windows Media
The following Host The Best features are supported in both Unix and Windows platforms
-Mailing List -Weekly Webstats -Web Based Email
Technical information for advanced users
	Unix	Windows
Web Server	Apache	IIS (Internet Information Server)